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Wednesday, 2 December 2015

Guest Post - Teresa F Morgan talking about Pantomimes - #HarperXmas

Thank you, Rachel, for inviting me on your blog today! Christmas can be about family traditions and I’m here to talk about mine.My family tend to get the playing cards out at Christmas, but there is one thing I have started with my children once they were old enough to appreciate it and that’s going to the pantomime. Oh yes it is! I have fond childhood memories of my dad taking my brother and me to the panto at Christmas, and I wanted my boys to have these same memories. My dad comes with us every year too, so it’s something they’ll remember doing with their granddad too. Weston-super-Mare has its own theatre. The Playhouse is smaller than the Hippodrome in Bristol, but more comfortable, and so far we’ve enjoyed every pantomime. The boys love the booing and the hissing, the ‘he’s behind you’ and the ‘oh no it’s not, oh yes it is.’ And one year, Ben was lucky enough to get up on stage at the end and win some goodies. I always book early – September! – to ensure we get great seats.When I was writing One Fine Day, I needed Steve (aka Stuart) to take Lydia on a date to the theatre. He’s an Hollywood actor and wanted to avoid the cinema, in case his face showed up on a trailer for his latest movie. However, the time of year One Fine Day is set, I realised they would only be able to watch a pantomime at the Bristol Hippodrome. , and so I decided it would be fun if they also took Lydia’s two nieces. It was lovely to recall on my own memories to write this scene and show how Steve’s character interacted with kids, and those awkward questions. It ended up being a really fun scene to write. What are your family traditions? Do you visit the pantomime at Christmas?
Thank you so much Teresa, for agreeing to feature on Rachel's Random Reads. I also used to love Pantomimes, especially as a child, I would still go now, but feel I may get looked at funny without a small child with me, to justify going along. However one of these years I will go see an adult panto, to remind myself what fun they really are!

About Teresa F Morgan

I live in sunny Weston-super-Mare, trying to hold onto my Surrey accent where I was born and bred.

For years I persevered with boring jobs, until my two boys joined my nest. In an attempt to find something to work around them, and to ensure I never endured full time boredom again, I found writing.

I am at my happiest baking cakes, putting proper home cooked dinners on the table (whether the kids eat them or not), reading a good romance, or creating a touch of escapism with heroes readers will fall in love with.

Actor Steve Mason has it all … gorgeous looks, the perfect starlet girlfriend hanging on his arm and his name on every Hollywood producer’s lips. That is, until it turns out the ‘perfect girl’ is actually a perfect PR stunt! Dumped and with his name plastered across every tabloid headline, Steve decides to head home to England, questioning if he’ll ever find a woman who genuinely loves him for who he is, and not just his place on the Sexiest Man Alive list.

It’s been fifteen long years since Ruby last saw her big brother – but the new LA version of Steve complete with designer wardrobe, California tan and an American accent is too much to bear – Ruby hardly recognises him and decides it’s time to get her brother back!

With Ruby’s help, Steve goes undercover as he plays the part of a regular guy who leads a regular life. And then one perfectly fine, ordinary day he meets lovely, funny, down-to-earth Lydia. But when Hollywood comes calling, will Steve be able to leave both Lydia and his little sister behind?